Facing the death penalty: Mugabe puts key ally of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister on trial for terrorism

A key ally of Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has gone on trial today for terrorism.

Roy Bennett, who Mr Tsvangirai wants to bring into his unity government with Robert Mugabe, is facing the death penalty if convicted of the charges.

The state brought several cases of ammunition and rifles as evidence into the High Court in Harare today.

ChargedL A top aide to Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Roy Bennett (right) arrives at Zimbabwe High Court in Harare for the start of his trial today

Bennett was arrested in February and charged with illegally possessing arms to commit acts of terrorism, banditry and insurgency, charges that carry a possible death penalty.

'This is a very serious matter which must be awarded the amount of seriousness it demands,' Zimbabwe's Attorney-General Johannes Tomana told the court.

A tense-looking Bennett sat in the dock, at times with his head bowed.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says the case is politically motivated. The party briefly boycotted the unity government after Bennett, a white former coffee farmer, was detained in prison following his indictment for trial.

Bennett, the MDC treasurer, has denied the charges and the MDC says the case was designed to stop him from taking office as deputy agriculture minister.

A senior Tsvangirai aide said Mugabe had previously told the former
opposition leader that Bennett's nomination was 'provocative',
especially after an often violent land seizure drive that saw white
commercial farmers, including Bennett, losing their land.

The MDC says Mugabe is frustrating efforts to swear in Bennett, along with other senior MDC officials, as required by a political agreement signed last year between the rival parties.

Mugabe says he does not oppose Bennett becoming a minister but says he should be acquitted by the courts first.

Tsvangirai said on Sunday his party would stay in the government and challenge ZANU-PF to implement the power-sharing deal.

In 2004 Bennett was sentenced 12 months in jail after he was convicted of assaulting a ZANU-PF minister during a parliamentary debate.

Bennett, a one-time policeman under Ian's Smith's white-ruled Rhodesia, returned to Zimbabwe in early 2009, shortly before his arrest, after spending two years in exile in South Africa.

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Facing the death penalty: Mugabe puts key ally of Zimbabwe's Prime Minister on trial for terrorism